Dennis Nett / The Post-StandardSyracuse forward James Southerland goes up for a shot over Georgetown's Henry Sims during Saturday's game in Washington.

Washington – James Southerland last played more than eight minutes a month ago, when his Syracuse team hosted Seton Hall in the Carrier Dome.

In five subsequent games, the SU sophomore logged a total of 15 minutes. He took four shots during that span and missed them all. One of them was a 3-pointer.

But on Saturday, in the nation’s capital, in perhaps the Big East’s most intense rivalry, Southerland rose from the bench with 10 minutes and 47 seconds left in the first half and turned in one of the more significant stretches of his Syracuse career.

Because during that span, the 6-foot-8 forward scored nine points on 4-of-6 shooting. That amount of offense, coming in a first half that at times lacked aesthetics, boosted the Orange to a 10-point lead at intermission. SU eventually outlasted the Hoyas 58-51.

“It felt good just staying out there and helping the team out,” Southerland said. “And being a threat out there.”

Southerland started his offensive display with a baseline jumper that elevated SU’s lead to 17-13. Dion Waiters drove baseline, drew the defense and found Southerland free in the corner.

That jumper hinted at what might follow. During a two-and-a-half minute stretch that closed out the Syracuse scoring, Southerland put-back a missed Waiters 3, sank another jumper and then drained a 3-pointer from the wing.

At that point, SU led 33-23 with 31 seconds left in the half.

“CJ (Fair) struggled a little bit the last couple games, and they play some zone so I thought James might get something going,” SU coach Jim Boeheim said. “He got a little rebound bucket to start and then he hit a short jumper, then he hit the 3. So he helped us. He helped us today, no question about that.”

“He did great,” SU guard Brandon Triche said. “He was more focused on his shot. He was open. He stayed with his shot. He was confident. And he made ‘em.”

He was so good that Boeheim put the ball in Southerland’s hands to close out the first half. Southerland caught the ball at the top of the 3-point arc with time ticking down to intermission. He hesitated a second, then let the ball fly. It missed and as he approached the locker room at halftime, his coach let him know that he “pulled the ball” on that final attempt, that he failed to shoot it in normal rhythm.

Southerland returned to the game a little more than two minutes into the second half. But this time, Southerland sensed an increased appreciation of him from the Hoyas defense. Instead of catching the ball with free space in front of him, he said, Georgetown defenders kept a more careful watch of where he was.

He tried to stay focused, he said, knowing that his coach believed him worthy of a second-half appearance. He tried, he said, to “be active,” to reach the loose rebounds, to flash his hands in the passing lanes, to pay attention to detail.

But Southerland knows, too, that his job is to shoot the basketball. He entered Saturday’s game at 36 percent from 3-point range, a proportion diminished by his 0-for-5 swing the last two times he attempted deep balls.

“That’s the first option, but there’s also other options out there,” Southerland said. “I’m basically in scoring mode. You know they’re going to run out to you when you have the shot. This gives you a better opportunity to drive to the basket. So when the defense commits, you have other guys open.”

He has taken baby steps his past few appearances, to prove he can put the ball on the floor. His reputation as a jump shooter, he said, allows defenses to close out on him without worrying that he will blow by them.

“You don’t want to just stand on the 3-point line. It makes the defense too easy,” Southerland said. “I’ve had that for awhile. It’s just putting it to use and making yourself a bigger threat out there.”

Boeheim wants Southerland to keep shooting the ball, to refuse to allow fear to guide him. Southerland attempted two shots in 10 minutes of second-half action. He said the open areas he exploited in the first half closed to a sliver of space after intermission. He believed, he said, that his mere presence on the perimeter discouraged Georgetown defenders to collapse inside on Rick Jackson.

In the end, Southerland finished with those same nine points he took into intermission.
“James gave us a great lift,” SU guard Scoop Jardine said. “James is going to be a great offensive player for us if he gets his head right. And today he was a threat. He stayed within himself and he made shots when we needed him.”